The dictionary’s “historical perspective” of the word further defends its title, saying, “From a strictly lexical interpretation of the different contexts in which Palin has used “refudiate,” we have concluded that neither “refute” nor “repudiate” seems consistently precise, and that “refudiate” more or less stands on its own, suggesting a general sense of “reject.” ”

Other finalists for the top spot included, appropriately, “retweet,” and “Tea Party.”

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story suggested that “refudiate” would be added to the dictionary. After this piece was published, the dictionary made clear that “there are no definite plans to include “refudiate” in the NOAD, the OED, or any of our other dictionaries.”